Master Sharuk
General: Master Sharuk was a mighty, level 20 lawful evil Githzerai Monk/Fighter/Rogue who launched a coup and murdered Grand Master Penumbra in a cowardly sneak attack and then declared himself the new ruler of the race and enemy of the party. He was killed in his conflict with them but was later reborn as the demon Legion. Appearance: Master Sharuk was an elderly Githzerai with long grey hair, a bald head and a beard like a trident. He wore long blue robes that have been partially tattered due to battle and age. Personality: Master Sharuk was sly and patient, cold and calculating. Like a serpent, he lay in wait until the right moment to strike presented itself. He spoke with authority and sophistication but also great arrogance and contempt. He seemed to hate non-Gith races and viewed them as unworthy to become true martial arts masters. He also hated the party for their claiming to be reincarnated deities and how Master Penumbra believed they could surpass him. He hated young "prodigies" who acquire their skills quickly in general out of jealousy. He believed that true power could only be achieved over a lifetime of hard training as he has done. When backed into a corner, his anger showed as a cold and ruthless determination to kill without mercy. Abilities: Master Sharuk was a skilled monk who is advanced enough in his training to have performed the quivering palm technique and used it to kill Master Penumbra. He combined the traditional style with less honorable techniques involving sneak attacks. He favored an einhander duelist style, using his increased speed to perform spring attacks and fighting defensively. He ruthlessly punished those who left themselves open by missing him or charging or otherwise fighting recklessly. Instead of a flurry of blows, he favored single, decisive strikes to enemies' vitals. While he was capable of performing charged ki blasts, he preferred to channel the energies into a rapier and enhance his strikes. He concealed his corrupted nature from Master Penumbra's soul sensing abilities by having Loki remove his soul from his body, on the condition that he could have it should he die in battle - something he didn't think was possible. Weaknesses: Master Sharuk is a highly lethal one on one fighter, but when surrounded by multiple strong opponents he was less effective. He also made the mistake of believing that his opponents would fight honorably after he already showed that he lacked honor. He attempted to rig a tournament against himself and his top students to favor his style, but was defeated when the party broke the rules. Goals: Master Sharuk sought to take over the Githzerai Temple and train the Githzerai in a new and more devious fighting style. He believed that he could dominate the Astral plane and utterly crush the Githyanki and the Mind Flayers once he has done so. He was more war-like than his predecessor who he believes "wasted an eternity" in tranquil meditation waiting for his supposed chosen ones to arrive. History: Prior to the game: Formerly one of Master Penumbra's most promising students, he fell just short of completing the 12 trials. He then fell to evil, bargaining with Tamamo No Mae and agreeing to train Vornir in exchange for access to secret, dishonorable techniques that could increase his power. Much to his personal frustration and Tamamo No Mae's joy, the young Vornir was eventually able to surpass him in combat. Tamamo No Mae discarded him without imparting her knowledge, saying he had served his purpose. However, Loki's reincarnation gave him the tools he needed in exchange for knowledge of the Astral Plane and the Gith. When Loki overthrew the Githyanki Queen, Vlaakith, he allowed Loki to remove his soul from his body. This way, he could hide his new evil nature from his former master. He said Loki could have it if he died, believing he would never be defeated. He was able to convince several fellow students to join him in plotting a coup to overthrow their master. The game: Master Sharuk watched with contempt as the party arrived to train under Master Penumbra and begin their trials. He sent his students to try to assassinate the group during the Trial of the Rat, knowing they would blame the Githyanki. When they returned with a ghostly Vornir and a captured Tamamo No Mae after the Trial of the Rabbit, he panicked when he overheard Vera try to warn Master Penumbra of a potential plot against him. When Vornir recognized his old master, he was left with no choice but to attack. After he killed Master Penumbra, the party knew they were too weakened from their last battle to fight him. Vornir along with the party goaded Sharuk by saying that he was too much of a coward to face them at their full health. They said that if he was so sure that they weren't reincarnated gods, they should be allowed a week to train and face him along with his top students in a tournament - a series of one on one matches. Sharuk's pride allowed this, as he could prove he was right by defeating them along with his top students - though he denied Vornir the ability to participate since he was already dead. The week of training was granted and Sharuk selected his top five students, including Master Penumbra's former samurai bodyguard Nardak. Nardak was about to take his own life for failing to protect his master, but enough people supported him that he could command Nardak not to and to serve him as the new master. Sharuk watched the party fight against Sharuk's students and grew more and more angered after several intense fights they prevailed. Then, Ren challenged him. He made sport of Ren, effortlessly dodging his attacks and slowly injuring him more and more. That is, until Ren managed to grapple him, nearly pushing the old man out of the arena before he wiggled free. His bodyguard then, acting against his wishes, jumped into the ring to "protect" him. Little did Sharuk know that Vornir was possessing his body. Vornir told Nardak that he could simply fail to resist Vornir controlling him and then be allowed to take his revenge. This seeming interference allowed the party to renegotiate the battle. Ren left the ring and Vera and Momiji stepped in. Vornir had Nardak fire shots at Vera with his longbow but conveniently miss or not break through his natural armor. Then, when Sharuk's back was turned, Vornir had Nardak fire at him - saying that honor was reserved only for the honorable and Sharuk had already shown he had none. The two on two match became a three on one and then the rest of the party jumped in. The entire party then surrounded Sharuk and ganged up on him. Vornir dealt severe damage by having Nardak charge, letting Sharuk dodge his puppet, before flying out in ghost form and putting his incorporeal hand through Sharuk and unleashing all of his ki at once. Vornir then battered Sharuk badly with physical blows, his defenses weakened by having to defend against multiple enemies. Sharuk was in shock as his plans unraveled. Ren dealt the blow that rendered him unconscious and Nardak beheaded him, ending Sharuk's coup. It was later revealed by the spirit of Master Penumbra that Sharuk had been a pawn in Loki's endgame. Loki never intended to let him rule the astral plane, but just saw him as a wedge to drive into the Githzerai, weaken them with a civil war, and allow for his own forces to prevail that much easier. Nardak's honor was redeemed by the party, who declared him the new ruler of the Githzerai. Demonic Rebirth: Sharuk's Soul was used to form a gravity well to absorb other Gith souls as part of Loki's plan using Vlaakith's soul digester machine. However, when the group made their truce with Loki and tried to destroy the machine, Sharuk's soul was freed. Rather than going to the afterlife, it merged with the mass of half-digested souls and formed a body made of pure concentrated evil. In this new form, Sharuk proved to be a ruthless foe - far surpassing his previous physical limits. He intended to absorb the divine sparks of the party and Loki and become invincible and his mere touch slowly stole life energy. Subsumed by Legion: However, as the fight dragged on, Sharuk lost control of his form. Vlaakith and other souls making up the mass told him he was still fighting like he had a single humanoid body. They then tore his soul apart as it screamed and struggled, making it merge with their own. Sharuk was no more - Legion was born. As Legion, the being was able to create many tendrils, wielding the powers of Sharuk, Vlaakith and Sharuk's top students among others. Defeat: After a desperate fight with the party, Vornir blew a hole through the wall of the castle and he and Vera succeeded in knocking him out into the temporal distortion around the castle. Legion was sealed in a slow-time field, able to move a fraction of a centimeter every couple centuries. The castle was re-purposed by the Illuminator Guild into a dungeon containing him and trying to keep anyone from freeing him in the future.